There are trailers that simply announce a film. And then there are those that immediately declare: this is an event. The official trailer for Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” clearly belongs to the second category. It doesn’t try to charm the viewer, it doesn’t explain, it doesn’t simplify. It looks you straight in the eye and says, “Buckle up. This is going to be long, hard, and real.”
Nolan takes the oldest male myth in Western culture—the story of a warrior’s return home—and transforms it not into a museum epic, but into an existential action story about survival, duty, and the price a man pays for his journey.
Matt Damon as Odysseus is not a hero with a bronze torso and pompous speeches. He is a weary king, an exhausted warrior, a man who has been away from home too long. His Odysseus is not a victor, but a survivor. And you feel this from the very first seconds of the trailer.
The opening scene inside the Trojan Horse—tight, suffocating, almost claustrophobic—sets the tone immediately. No heroism for the sake of a beautiful shot. Only fear, tension, and the understanding that war doesn’t end with victory. Sometimes, it’s only just beginning.
The strongest emotion in the trailer is not fear, but separation. Tom Holland as Telemachus appears for only a moment, but it’s enough to feel the chasm between father and son. Anne Hathaway as Penelope does not scream or plead. Her line, “Promise me you’ll come back,” sounds like a verdict.
This is not a story about the path to glory. It’s a story about the path back. About a man who must choose: break or reach the end, even if that end means returning changed, a different person.
If you were expecting a CGI spectacle—move along. Nolan once again bets on scale, physicality, and reality. Real ships. Real water. Real danger. The 70mm IMAX cameras don’t just capture the action—they immerse you in it.
It’s no surprise that tickets for 70mm IMAX screenings sold out before the trailer even dropped. This is one of those films that literally demands the big screen. A film you don’t just watch—you experience.
Why it matters now
“The Odyssey” hits theaters in summer 2026, but it feels like Nolan has made a film about the modern man. About fatigue. About responsibility. About that inner compass that keeps working even when everything around is collapsing.
In an era of quick victories and short journeys, Nolan offers an epic about the long road, where strength isn’t in muscles, but in the ability not to give up. This is not a film about myths. It’s a film about choice.
